More likely, they were not happy campers. More likely, they complained as they walked and walked and walked...

"But I'm tiiiired! I wanna go back hoooome! I liked it there better. I miss the cat. Why'd we have to leave, anyway?"

"Shssh, honey, I've already told you a hundred times. The prophet had certain needs, on account of his great libido, and that made some people angry and now heavenly father wants us to walk 2,000 miles through bad weather to show him that we love him."

Children are the best and certainly miss no punches in telling it how they see it.

"Mommy, I really, really, really don't like this new religion. My prayers are never answered. I prayed and prayed that I could just go back to my old home and my best friend. I prayed and prayed that we would not have to walk and walk and walk so much and eat the same stupid thing every single day. I just want to see Liza again. I miss her so much. Mommy, wake up. You fell asleep again when I wanted you to hear what I was saying. No, I won't be quiet....I want you to hear me!"

We worked potato harvest each fall before combines took over manual labor. We'd get a two week fall "harvest vacation" from school so we could bust our chops off picking spuds for two or three cents a bag. That was child labor for you!

The task masters would walk past us telling us to work harder, lol. Yeah, we were slaves alright. And from our measly earnings we paid a full tithe.

...I wonder if there will be a time when much of what was lost; in terms of the strength and fortitude of those pioneer people, will be once again be required to survive whatever is ahead for us, as a society?

I "picked spuds" several times during my growing up years. It was such back breaking work and I remember we wanted to get 100 gunny sacks a day at least. Then we would earn $6 each! I think about young people now days and know there is no way they would do such work.

In the book, "Devil's Gate: Brigham Young and the Great Mormon Handcart Tragedy" it is explained that since the children were slower they would send the children out early by themselves across the plains. As I recall it would include children as young as 5 or 6.

What you have all written is certainly true. In the Bible those who left Egypt got tired and many wanted to return! I would imagine that all were told of the impossibility of going back because they would be attacked by indians, etc. and have no food if they left.

BTW, when some of my ancestors - especially my grandfather - were in the west they returned to the east. Some of my relatives were much earlier to the west than the Mormons. One of them actually settled in what is now Colorado in the 1820s. He is noted in some histories as the first settler in what is now Colorado (obviously not including the indians). Interestingly, he married four daughters of the indian chief where he settled.

Sorry for the late reply but the Pilgrims were free to practice their religion in Holland but felt they were losing the English customs. I am descendant of them as well as having a puritan ancestry and a Quaker ancestry as well as Welsh and French ancestry...and Scottish Presbyterian ancestry.

We're probably related, rhgc. We share some common ancestry strains. Some of mine came over early also (way way back in the early Americas, like 1500's and on.) Have Welsh, French, Scottish and a mix of most western European w/concentration from Great Britain/Ireland/Scotland/Wales.

If we could go on the Wayback Machine, I doubt first that I'd survive the trip. And then second, survive the lives that our ancestors had to suffer through. They had it much worse than we do.